China
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · In January, the Nanyang Intermediate People's Court...
- News items in the archive
- 2,796
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
China is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 2,796 news items on China, from 1999 to today.
China is believed to carry out more executions than any other country, but the figure is a state secret: no official statistics exist, and the known cases are those reported by the press or heard in public trials. Capital punishment applies to a large number of offences, including economic and drug offences, and the system also provides for a death sentence with a two year suspension, which in practice is often converted into life imprisonment.
The news on this page is a small part of what happens, and it is the part that can be documented.
Latest news
- AUGUST 19, 2005VietnamDEATH PENALTY
a Vietnam court sentenced Chang Yuchia, 20, a Chinese national, to death for drug trafficking
a Vietnam court sentenced Chang Yuchia, 20, a Chinese national, to death for drug trafficking
- AUGUST 12, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. EX-BANK OF CHINA EXECUTIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE FOR GRAFT
Liu Jinbao, a former senior executive of the Bank of China accused of corruption, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, the Xinhua news agency reported.
- AUGUST 10, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GANG CHIEFS GET DEATH FOR SELLING 82 CHILDREN
a Fujian Province court, China, handed down death sentences to the leaders of two gangs that bought more than 80 children from their parents and sold them in Singapore.
- AUGUST 9, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. THREE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HEROIN TRAFFICKING, EXECUTED AFTER PASSING OF SENTENCE
in its final trial, the Foshan City Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province, China, upheld the original verdict sentencing Guo Jizong, Zhang Fajian and Peng Guowei to death and Li Shaoze and Wang Jiazhang to life imprisonment for drug traffickin
- AUGUST 8, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR TRAFFICKING CHILDREN TO SINGAPORE
Ke Pangjie, a man convicted of running a child trafficking ring that sold 44 children to Singapore over a five-year period, was sentenced in China's southeastern city of Quanzhou, with partners Wu Wenbin and Sheng Zhenzhong getting life imprisonment and 1
- AUGUST 8, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. FIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HEROIN TRAFFICKING
in its initial trial, the Haikou City Intermediate People's Court in Hainan Province, China, sentenced Wang Chunliang, Zhou Bing, Huang Bin, LI Haichun and Wu Xiaobo to death for trafficking in more than six kg of narcotics.
- AUGUST 7, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. EXECUTION POLICY KEEPS FUGITIVES SAFE ABROAD
China's lack of key extradition treaties and heavy hand with the death penalty was allowing many escaped corrupt officials to stay far from the arm of Chinese law, the state-run Xinhua Daily Telegraph reported.
AUGUST 5, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA. HONG KONG REPORTER ACCUSED OF SPYING
China has formally charged Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong, 55, with spying for its rival Taiwan, the state news agency Xinhua has reported. If Mr Ching is convicted, he could face the death penalty.
- JULY 29, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DEATH FOR TEACHER CONVICTED OF RAPE
Li Guang, a teacher in western China convicted of raping 23 girls in his office was sentenced to death.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
OFFICER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
the Intermediate People's Court of Guigang City, sentenced Huang Jinxiong, a public security officer, and two other defendants, Tang Dazhang and He Shirong, to death after convicting them of drug trafficking.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
EX-OFFICIAL TO DEATH FOR CORRUPTION
Ma De, former secretary of the municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Suihua City, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by Beijing No.2 Intermediate People's Court for accepting bribes.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. SIX MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 10 MURDERS DURING CAR ROBBERIES
China sentenced to death six gang members convicted of killing 10 people during car robberies in the Pearl River Delta area and northern parts of Guangdong province.
- JULY 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. LEGISLATOR GETS DEATH SENTENCE FOR FRAUD, RAPE
Sang Yuechun, a former Chinese legislator, was condemned to death for a range of crimes including embezzling public funds, defrauding banks and rape, after a court rejected his appeal.
- JULY 27, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
ACCELERATES DRIVE TO PROSECUTE POLICE WHO USE TORTURE
China accelerated a campaign to prosecute police who extracted confessions by torture as part of a wider drive to curb human rights abuses in police custody, state media reported.
JULY 25, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA. MAN ACCUSED OF FUKUOKA FAMILY MURDERS EXECUTED FOLLOWING FAILED APPEAL
Yang Ning, a Chinese man sentenced to death over the killing of a family of four in the Japanese city of Fukuoka in 2003 had been executed for the crime, Japanese diplomats said.
- JULY 22, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GUANGDONG COURT SENTENCES TWO TO DEATH FOR ECSTASY SMUGGLING
in its initial trial, the Foshan City Intermediate People's Court, China, sentenced Zhao Fuqiang and Ye Zhixiong to death for drug smuggling and Chen Pengfei to seven years imprisonment for his involvement in the crime.
- JULY 21, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Song Zhang’ai, 48, was executed in Beijing, China...
Song Zhang’ai, 48, was executed in Beijing, China...
- JULY 20, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GUANGZHOU COURT SENTENCES TWO TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE FOR MAKING ANDTRAFFICKING ECSTASY
in its second trial, a Guangzhou court, China, sentenced Yu Zhuoxiong, Guo Mingqing and Chen Yuhan to death with two years reprieve.
JULY 19, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA. SIX MEN CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE PUT TO DEATH
six men were executed in the Chinese capital Beijing for murder and other crimes including robbery and rape, state media reported.
JULY 19, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA. COURTS WARNED OVER DEATH PENALTY CONVICTIONS
China, whose judicial system has been under scrutiny after a series of widely publicised wrongful convictions, asked its courts to think twice before handing down the death penalty.
- JULY 18, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO PLOTTED WIFE'S DEATH TO COLLECT INSURANCE
Yang Aiping, a man who took out accident and life insurance worth 530,000 yuan (64,000 dollars) for his wife, was sentenced to death for murder by a court in the southwestern province of Sichuan.
- JULY 14, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GUANGZHOU COURT SENTENCES ONE TO DEATH FOR HEROIN AND ECSTASY TRAFFICKING
it was reported that the Guangzhou City Intermediate People's Court, China, sentenced Chen Qiugeng, a 38-year-old Jiangxi native, to death for trafficking 1.05 kg of heroin and 120 grams of ecstasy pills.
JULY 11, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTYAUSTRALIA. CHINA OPPOSES THE GIVING OF ASYLUM TO DIPLOMAT FOR FEAR OF EXECUTION
China voiced "resolute opposition" to Australia's decision to grant asylum to Chen Yonglin, a former Chinese diplomat, and dismissed his accusations that he faced execution if repatriated as "lies not worthy of response".
- JULY 8, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. SEVEN PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN JIANGSU FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
seven people were sentenced to death and another to death with reprieve by the Wuxi Municipal Intermediate People's Court in east China's Jiangsu Province following what police described as the largest drug trafficking case cracked in the province.
- JULY 2, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR EMBEZZLEMENT
Yu Hu, female, was sentenced to a provisional death penalty in Beijing, charged with embezzling more than 16 million yuan (US$2 million) from more than 180 people.
JUNE 30, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA. 13 PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN CROSS COUNTRY BORDER DRUGS CASE
a court in southeastern China sentenced to death 13 convicted drug traffickers in what was being called the country's biggest case of cross-border drug trade involving "ice," state press said.
- JUNE 29, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. SINGER YU'S BROTHER HAS NOT BEEN EXECUTED FOR DRUG OFFENSE: BEIJING
news reports that Taiwanese singer Yu Tien's adopted younger brother had been executed in China on charges of narcotics trafficking were incorrect, a spokesman for the Chinese government said.
- JUNE 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. JIANGXI COURT SENTENCES TWO TO DEATH FOR TRAFFICKING; EXECUTIONS CARRIED OUT
the Nanchang City Intermediate People's Court, China, sentenced Yuan Hao and Tan Qiang to death for trafficking and storing illegal drugs.
- JUNE 28, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GUANGDONG COURT SENTENCES BURMESE NATIONAL TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
in its initial trial, the Jiangmen Intermediate People's Court, China, sentenced Burmese national Zhao Qiaohua to death for heroin trafficking.
- JUNE 26, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MASS SENTENCING AND EXECUTIONS MARK INTERNATIONAL ANTI-DRUG DAY
China used International Anti-Drug Day to confirm its approach to the problem, with state media reporting the execution of a series of traffickers.